The present invention relates to book holders, and in particular to portable holders for cookbooks which will hold the cookbook in an easily accessible position for reference during cooking.
When preparing food, it is often necessary to refer repeatedly to the recipe, which is often contained in a cookbook. Since it would be inconvenient for the person preparing the food to have to open the book each time the recipe is referred to, it becomes desirable to provide means whereby the book can be laid open and easily accessible during cooking.
Probably the most common way for doing this is to simply lay the cookbook open on the kitchen counter, but this requires a certain amount of counter space, which may be at a premium if the counter space is limited or the dish which is being prepared requires elaborate preparation and, therefore, a greater expanse of counter space. Furthermore, when the book is laid on the counter, food may be dripped or splattered on it during the course of cooking. Although clear plastic cookbook holders have been provided for the purpose of protecting the open book from food, they occupy a considerable amount of valuable counter space in use and their size makes storage a problem.
Since it is often difficult to read a cookbook when it is supported on the level of the counter top. prior art devices have been devised for supporting the cookbook at a level which enables it to be more comfortably read by the person preparing the food. One such cookbook holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,254,832 and comprises a support which is slidably mounted for movement into and out of the cabinet and, when in a closed position, has the appearance of a drawer. Since this device is permanently installed, it requires specially designed kitchen cabinets. Furthermore, since the device is not portable, it cannot be moved from one location to another in the kitchen and its usefulness is, therefore, somewhat limited.